One great weekend

It's been crazy again as we continue to work on all that needs done around the house. We were able to have a great long weekend though. Thursday night, was our trip to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. This is fast becoming my favorite event of the year. The power and emotion that this concert brings out is amazing. The lights, sounds, and story really assault the emotions and creates a spectacular show. Throw in the fact the it always has a great Christmas story with it and it blows me away. The band played almost 3 straight hours. When people ask me what it's like you can't describe it. I tell people - "imagine if Beethoven and Mozart lived today and had all the instrument, light, and pyro that exists today. Those long haired musical genius's would be playing the same stuff TSO plays. Drums, strings, and a few electric guitars screaming out their music." Don't ask, just go to the concert and then you'll know what I mean. Until then words cannot describe it.

Friday we got up and went to the Body Worlds exhibit. They had all kinds of plasticized bodies and parts on display. It was very interesting to see how the body looks underneath the skin. It showed whole body displays of the nervous system, and all the veins in the body in a 3D form. I'm not very interested in the body from a anatomy point of view, but it was cool to see.

Then finally thanks to all the help from Spencer, Rod, and Joe, the house was finished. The board and baton are up and all we need to do now is finish caulking and paint it in the spring. Joe has been caulking. Let him do as much as he wants. He seems to think I have no patience for that kind of work. I do when I need to. He just doesn't believe it. I've seen enough of his early work on the house to know that he wasn't the "measure twice cut once person he is now." That's fine he can caulk all he wants I hate doing that. All in all quite a weekend. As I listen to TSO while I type my mind goes back to one kick butt weekend and one great concert.

Dust in the Wind

Kansas was right. Uncle Seve died yesterday. At the ripe old age of 98. He finally got his wish a past on to the next life. I lived next to Seve for 21 years. He was an example of how to keep moving and keep in good health. Even with some of his bad habits, I'll always remember the smell of his pipe smoke. He quit when I was young, but once in a while you can catch a whiff of the same smoke. He was a good and dedicated family man. I wish I'd known him better. Even growing up next to Seve I never felt super close to him, but it is still sad to see him go. 98 years, He has seen vast amounts of history. I hope it is not to much longer before Alma follows. She is not in great health and I'm not sure how she'll survive alone.

In other news...

The election was yesterday and we have a new President. I didn't like any of the candidates. Barack Obama won over John Mccain in a close race. I am nervous about this next four years. Barack has won in a time when the country is still at war, the economy is in a recession, and the people are clearly divided on many issues. Barack is a very charismatic person with tons of potential, I just hope he can break the bi-partisan politics and fix some problems. The country is divided, and it starts with congress. Lets hope they can truly put there differences aside and work to improve the country. Put aside all the pork barrel spending and put the money where it belongs. Congress needs to get in touch with who they represent and improve what they want. The last thing we need is another politician getting a bill past in one state because he gave money to another state on some earmarked bill. Ethics is not high priority in congress and it should be. We pay them to support our communities agendas, not to fulfill their personal agendas. Quit making new laws and enforce the current ones. I don't envy Barack. I hope he can unify the country and stabilize the hate and discontent.

Weather and light are optional...

Finally, I've been plugging along in the dark and cold weather trying to finish the house. It's looking great. If only we had more light and warmer days. Spencer has been a huge help, but with his schedule we don't get many hours to work on it. I'm not complaining, I need the help. It is definitely a two-man job. Hopefully we get quite a bit done tonight. What I need is about a four day weekend, that we both have off so we could finish it off. Spencer's got his own projects to start. I hope his goes faster than mine. I know I'm being selfish, but Seve's funeral didn't come at a convenient time. I hate going to funerals, but I guess family obligations come first.

Slow Down...

Wow, I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've written. I've been so busy lately that I couldn't even tell you what is going on in the world. I've been putting siding on the house(it is going to make such a difference.) Running to various doctor appointments. We had Amber's baptism, which was very well done except for the missionaries attempt to teach the first discussion. I hope I was never as awful as they were. I have a hard time believing anyone would set up a second discussion after that snoozefest. We are still waiting for results on Staci's car. They are going to fix all the cosmetic stuff, but we haven't heard on the engine stuff. I think if they don't fix the engine leaks and stuff we'll still end up getting a different vehicle. To fix the leak and new tires we'd be into it probably $1000. The car just isn't worth that much.
We've at least been doing well. Oaklan is only in the 98% for height, 85% for weight. His feet are looking great and we are in the final 6 weeks of using the braces all day. Kennedy's reading nonstop now and it is amazing what she can read. Staci goes back to work today so I hope all goes well with her. She taught her first RS lesson yesterday. Then I taught Gospel Doctrine so we've had a week of intense preparation. Any way UEA is over so it's back to the grind.

Buyer beware, and don't ask any questions.....

This whole mess with Staci's wreck is causing all kinds of problems. Do not ever use Bear River mutual insurance. If you have to deal with them because of someone else's mistake like we do, My complete sympathies go towards you. From the moment I meet their first representative until that last, I feel they have not been fair to us. From the appraiser Tracy's most intelligent comment of "I can't be sure the crack in you windshield is from the accident", or "The car is parked on the street how can I confirm that the broken lights, bumper, hood, fender, and grill were all damaged in the accident." He's right, I sure hope the North Ogden Police soon catch up with that renegade gang of trolls, goblins, and demons that keep destroying my car. It's a good thing that they also destroyed the accused car that cause the accident in the exact same spot where we allegedly hit him. I don't think it would have been easy to prove that the car was in a wreck at all, if it weren't for that. Except for maybe my wife's account, the kid's account, the three witnesses account, the police report, and oh maybe the boy actually admitting his fault. With all of that we almost have a proof that the car was actually in an accident. The interesting thing is who is going to take the word of a 16 year old boy whose been driving a month over a mother a two with 17 years experience, a spotless driving record, and both kids in the car. No hard feelings for the boy he manned up to his mistake. Bear River should learn from that. Then to make matters worse, the office staff at Bear River is as rude and unprofessional as they come. When you have Staci so rattled that she yelling on the phone, you are being extremely unprofessional. Staci 16 years of working with clients more powerful and demanding than Bear River have taught her something. They continue to argue every point of the claim. They yell if we ask questions. They seem to have forgotten who was the victim. I would think on such a lopsided incident, where there is no argument whose at fault, that they would be kissing some butt. In today's sue happy world I would be making sure the victims are as comfortable as possible. I would want any one's back to start hurting. I wonder who over heard the conversation because after being told there was no rental or tow for the car, things mysteriously tilted to our favor. We got the tow and Enterprise called and told us we had a reservation for a car. We didn't take it. We are going though our insurance. Allstate has always be good to us and when their preliminary estimate is $700 different, who would you go through? Not to mention the Allstate's concern over the smell of gas when you start it up. And a oil leak that has been there for a while, but has gone from a leak of maybe 1/2 a quart a year to leaving quite a mess. The sad part is we are not trying to get a new car or become rich off this accident. We want the car fixed. It was in good working order before the wreck, get it back where it was is all we ask. Shame on Bear River Mutual for trying strong arm out of their obligations. Fix my car!!! Do it properly. We'll still be driving it and want a safe reliable car again. That's all!! I've heard rumor that Bear River Insurance is going under, If they treat their client's twice as well as they us I'm surprised anyone would use them. The business would be better without them if they deal like that.

And the hits just keep on coming...

Wow, yesterday sucked. I sleeped like crap and woke up ornery, and that's how my day went. I very rarely have a day where it just seems like I'm pissed at the world, but yesterday qualified. I'm not sure why I was in such a bad mood, but nothing happened to make my life easier along the way. I came back to work with extra projects. It doesn't seem to matter how well you prepare a sub, you come back to a mess. I've never thought of me as a control freak, but I guess I am, because it's just easier to do it myself, and have it done right, than to leave it to someone else. It didn't help yesterday that the insurance never returned Staci's calls. I wonder why we pay for an agent when we did all the work online. Then I finally had to break down and buy a new battery for my truck. I think I've bought more car batteries than cars. It's a terrible way to spend $75. At least Monday is now over and hopefully my life begins to fall back into some sort of normalcy.

What a ride....

The last couple days has been a roller coaster of fun and emotion. We left Thursday morning to go to Kodachrome State Park for our annual man-trip. We got down there early afternoon and started riding right away. We went to Groverners arch and the surrounding area and broke in the trip with a fun little back country ride on the ATVs. My ride had a dead battery so the electric shifter was not working and it's nearly impossible to shift it manually while riding. I spent most of the day in the same gear but had a blast. The next day we found a new battery ($60 because it's a small town), but it made the riding much easier. We went down Hole in the Rock road to find a couple of slot canyons. Even with a book and map we spent the day lost. I still don't know if we found what we were looking for. After a 2 (3 or 4) mile hike through the desert we found a nice slot with cool little frogs in it. I had to drag Dad and Spencer the last 200 yards to the slot. Then I think I about killed them coming out. I don't think I'd ever seen Spencer so tired and in so much pain (sissy). Just kidding we were all sore the next day. It blows my mind though how you can walk through miles of desert and sand and find lush plant life and water in these slot canyons. The one we went through on Friday was knee deep. it was only about 50 feet long at the narrowest part, but the water was still deep and extremely cold. Saturday we rode down sheep creek canyon???? We were still lost but found this gorge that was about 20 miles long and we could ride right down the middle of it crossing a stream 150 times along the way. We were about to find a couple of small tight slots that were neat. We also accidentally stumbled on some petroglyphs and rock carving from some ancient tribe. We packed up Sunday and came home, all in all it was a great trip. It really boggles my mind the amount of beauty and majesty there is down there. Heavenly Father and Jesus really are grand architects. I'm humbled by the fact that we can see and enjoy such sites. There differently is not a enough credit given to the creator of this world to make such a pretty canvas out of each specific region. I know I don't appreciate my surroundings enough, but when you really think about the beauty of the earth, you can see how much we are loved.

The only bad news is coming home I called Staci and found out about her car accident. Luckily everyone is safe and sound. A Durango holds it ground well against a Saturn. It's funny because I knew something was going to happen. I've left Staci before for a couple of day and never been uneasy, but I really had the feeling something was going to happen. I never once believe it was serious, but that a small crisis would happen nonetheless. Strange how those feelings can arise. When Mom called Spencer and told him to have me call Staci I Knew something happened. I was thinking car wouldn't start and left her somewhere, or maybe a broken arm, or sick baby, but car accident never crossed my mind. We're all all home and safe so we can give thanks for the protection we have received.

Where two or more are gathered

Yesterday was crazy. Three assemblies in one day. I have never seen so many different activities going on at the same time. Then add a PTA meeting, Head start doing bus safety, and new books arriving at the school, I didn't have a chance to breathe. Then of course people showing up needing equipment at the last minute. I swear people don't communicate anymore. It makes my life more difficult when people don't think things through.

Tomorrow I'm going on the annual man trip. This year we are going to southern Utah to four wheel and hike some slot canyons. Who know how this will turn out. I'm excited, but also a little nervous being as how I planned this and really don't know what the heck I'm doing. I feel bad that I'm leaving Staci for four day with a baby and Kennedy so I hope they aren't too wild. Between soccer, school and any other activities they have going on. Staci will need a vacation when I get home.

I started reorganizing our food storage and accessing our needs. We have a long ways to go. What use to be a fairly good reserve has dwindled substantially. When I quit Gourmet Awards we had quite the stock pile. Luckily we lived off much of this while I was going to school. It's time to begin to build it back up. Hopefully in the next couple weeks me and Staci will budget out a plan to buy more of the stuff we need on a monthly basis.

In the beginning

I've been wanting to start one of these blogs for a quite a while. I didn't know just how easy it was to do. Staci who has been fascinated reading other blogs decided that our family needed one too. I think it's great. I love the ease and convenience of spreading family news without remembering who you've talked to and what people already know. I will try to help Staci keep the family blog updated and full of information. This blog, however, is for my thoughts, ideas, and recollections. It will probably be much more random and bounce from one subject to the next. I feel many times when I write my feelings down that they become much clearer. Some of my thoughts might be foreign or controversial, but my thought process has never been a run of the mill procedure. With that said, I hope that one day I can look back and measure noticeable progress in my thoughts and actions, as well as interject some memories that helped shape my life.


I hate moving.....

I got a call last night from Heber, a new member of the ward, who wants help moving in on Saturday. I'll be out of town so that puts the burden of help on the rest of the Elders. I'm not sure our men can step up to the challenge. I hope that a least a few show up to help. My biggest complaint with moving someone in is not the work, but the hounding of the Elders get them to do anything. Many hands make light work, but the Elders never have seemed to understand this point. I'm not sure why. I grumble at giving up time to help move, but I try to help. I try to be at the activities and work with the Elders, but I get tired of those who never lift a finger to help those who need it, then complain that the Elders don't function properly. Moves are the worst because you never know what you are going to run into. There is nothing better than walking into a move with things boxed up, organized, and ready to go. You can move a house in a matter of hours if done right. There is nothing worse that going into a Rod Hutchins move, where there is more junk than one family should possibly own. I wonder where that family lived. The house was so full, I know it wasn't on the inside. I can't believe we hauled two moving trucks full of trash to their new house. I don't think the DI would have taken half this stuff. Most of it was broken or discarded leftovers anyway. It qualifies as one of the worst moves ever. After three weeks and at least 5 Uhaul trucks (the big ones) I believe he has finally finished a job that should have been done in a day. Heaven forbid if his new house catches of fire because there is enough dry wood to burn for a week. Heber seems real nice and called a week before he was moving in (that's almost illegal) so I a least have hope that his whole move is well organized and he'll make a great additionto the ward. I believe if we can help a family when they move in it reaaly help the family find there place in the ward easier. We never had the ward help us move in and after five years of living here, people would still introduce themselves to me. I hope all goes well, but honestly, I'm worried that we can't get enough Elders there to make a good impression.